Social pressure on infertile couples: Who is to Blame?

Recently, a Delhi based couple suffering from infertility for 10 long years planned to kidnap another relative’s newborn baby succumbing to social pressure.

What Actually Happened?

It all started when the relative of the accused announced their pregnancy. The couple had enough of the taunts coming from all over for not having a child. This frustration forced them to hatch a devious plan. It all began with faking a pregnancy to time the birth of the child with the other couple (their relative).

“Childless after 10 years of marriage, this couple hatched a plot to kidnap the newborn baby of a relative: the idea was conceived even before he was born and executed 12 days into the birth. The accused, who have been arrested by the police, prepared an elaborate plan when a relative broke the news that his wife was pregnant. After a few days, the couple announced that they too were expecting a child.”

-The Times of India, January 3, 2018

When the baby was 12 days old they drugged the actual parents of the baby with the help of the sister-in-law and stole the newborn. It took quite a while for the police to nab the actual culprits.

“The couple told the police that they were tired of taunts by relatives over not having a child.”

Infertility and Its Psychological Impact on Women at large:

This incident doesn’t anger or upset me. It just makes me ponder over the social pressure that this infertile couple had to undergo to take such a drastic step. Yes, society does that to you. It incites you to take the extreme step.

Infertility, otherwise a medical condition, is so intrinsically related to your being a woman or a man that the pressure created crosses all levels of sanity. Women going through fertility issues are known to isolate themselves from society,  take a career break, sink into depression and, attempt suicide. Locking themselves in a room and crying for days on hearing the  “good news” of a friend or relative is quite common.

In fact, infertility is cited as a key factor for about 28% of the suicide cases in this country and It is quite shameful.

But Why?

But what is important here is to ask why?

Why is a woman made to feel this way?

Why does a woman feel alienated?

Why having a biological child is so important?

Let this incident be an eye-opener to the society that slowly kills the spirit of a couple fighting infertility

If you look carefully, the real culprit, in this case, is not the infertile couple BUT the society that incited them. So, if someone truly deserves to be punished, it is we who make up the society.

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Given a scenario like this, we can’t stress enough on counseling which is a must for every couple going through fertility issues. Come and talk to us no matter which stage of the journey you are in.